The Gospel According To Luke - Week 6: "The Mountaintop & The Valley"

It’s Transfiguration Sunday

The last Sunday before Lent, the final lesson from our study in Luke as part of our sermon series, "The Gospel According to Luke." 

Today, we will study an incredible story of a mountaintop moment full of imagery, amazingness, and glory.  

And then we have to go back down the mountain to the valley.  

Before we dig into our text, let me say something about the ultimate mountaintop moment.  

Conquering Everest - A Lesson in mountaintop moments 

Mount Everest is the world's tallest peak at over 29,000 feet above sea level.  

It can cost you $100,000 to climb Mt. Everest if you want to go with a qualified guide, the right equipment, preparation, and support. 

Or you can climb it by using a less expensive company for $30-40K.  

Over 350 people have died while trying to climb Mt. Everest since the 1950s.  200 bodies remain on the mountain, some visible to the climbing people.  

And even if you somehow manage to make it to the top, there's one thing you should know.  

No matter how much you sacrifice to reach the summit, you can’t stay there. 

It's the same way for every mountaintop moment we experience.  Whatever achievements, victories, epiphanies or triumphs we experience, we can't stay in those moments.  They never last, which is why so many of us keep chasing them.  We live for the mountaintops, and endure the valleys.  

What if we were able to reframe all of this?   

What if the mountaintop moments were simply part of the journey, rather than a destination? 

WE LOVE THE MOUNTAINTOPS, WE LEARN IN THE VALLEY 

Luke 9:28-36 (37-43a)

28 Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 

Jesus goes to a mountain with a few disciples to pray.  (Which mountain?)

They went up to pray and probably to talk about what Jesus had just said. 

29 And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 30 Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. 31 They appeared in glory and were speaking about his exodus, which he was about to fulfill in Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep, but as they awoke they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 

The disciples are sleepy (Gethsemane), denoting their inability to see.  

Jesus appears with Moses and Elijah (Law and Prophets)

33 Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us set up three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah,” not realizing what he was saying. 

Peter wants to stay there and create a destination. Can you blame him?

34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. 35 Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen;[f] listen to him!” 36 When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.

Then the voice of God comes to them: “Listen to Him!”

The valley brings all of it back into focus, the real work, real transformation. 

37 On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. 38 Just then a man from the crowd shouted, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. 39 Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he[g] shrieks. It convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him. 40 I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” 41 Jesus answered, “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” 42 While he was being brought forward, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 43 And all were astounded at the greatness of God.

What does this say about Christianity in our current culture?  Christianity in America is all about the mountaintop.  It's grounded in a triumphalism that is addicting.  Bigger is better.  Power is the goal. Winning is everything.  

And even those who know better still chase the mountaintops to feel better, numb our pain, fill the void.  

We just want to get through the valleys and back to the summit, even though the real work, the real transformation happens there and not on the mountaintop.  

What Do We Learn From Listening To Jesus?

1. The mountaintop offers a vision of how to return to the valley.  

The disciples' vision was that no matter what the world threw at them, everything would be all right. 

2. The hard work of healing doesn’t happen on the mountain.  

The mountaintop offers a glimpse of what is possible if we live and love as our truest selves.  

3. The Church isn’t a destination; it’s a starting point.  

This is where we learn what it looks like to be the Church in the world.  

WE LOVE THE MOUNTAINTOPS, WE LEARN IN THE VALLEY